LOS ANGELES—With an eye toward strengthening its position in the lodging sector, CBRE Group has acquired PKF Consulting USA LLC from FirstService Corp., parent company of Colliers International. Deal terms were not disclosed; a spokeswoman for Toronto-based FirstService said the company had no comment. FirstService acquired an 80% stake in PKF in early 2007.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the acquisition, which occurred last week, late Tuesday evening. “We're extremely bullish on the hotel sector,” Kevin Mallory, senior managing director and global head of CBRE Hotels, told the WSJ. With the addition of PKF, CBRE hotel group will grow to about 270 people in 44 offices worldwide, he said. The paper also quoted R. Mark Woodworth, president of PKF's research arm, as saying all 200 PKF employees would join CBRE.

“Being part of CBRE will increase our ability to serve client needs while continuing the service and commitment that clients have grown to expect from PKF Consulting USA and PKF Hospitality Research,” San Francisco-based PKF says in a statement posted to its website. “CBRE has 200 professionals around the world focused on the hospitality sector, and joining together will ensure that we continue to provide the sophisticated consulting and research that the lodging industry is demanding in today's ever-changing environment.”

Separately, PKF Hospitality Research said Tuesday that it had released the Hotel Occupancy Tax Calculator. The Excel-based tool is designed to give local agencies the ability to incorporate objectively developed forecasts into their estimates of future hotel occupancy tax collections. It estimates taxed revenues for the next five years using the PKF-HR Hotel Horizons econometric forecasting methods.

PKF-HR's president, Woodworth says the calculator makes the work easier for managers of destination marketing organizations and convention and visitor bureaus by automating and improving occupancy tax revenue predictions. “Important local agencies, such as stadium authorities, airport authorities and other public/private ventures, also will benefit,” he says. The PKF-HR effort to assist local agencies dependent on the occupancy tax was recognized with an “Extra! Extra! Hear All About It” award at the 2014 Americas Lodging Investment Summit conference.

A new report titled “Projecting Hotel Occupancy Tax Revenues: An Objective Approach” has been prepared by Natalie Koller, a consultant in PKF's Atlanta office. It details how DMOs and other agencies benefit from more accurate forecasts of lodging revenues, and can be downloaded at no charge from PKF's website.